Children of Ashes
by lucy.ditty
Summary: One-hundred years since the fall of the first great ninja village. Ten years since their homes had been burned to the ground. Blood lust and a promise made. "Don't die." And let the revolution begin. AU.


_**DISCLAIMER:** Only the story belongs solely to me. Everything else is property of its rightful owners  
 **BETAS:** aclockworkat, FFFG_

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 **Act I: Chapter One**

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Their nightmares scorched in fire.

Red leaves floating, charred. Evergreen trees blackened and burning.

It was their brothers burning. Sisters burning. It was their fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers. It was their aunts and uncles, childhood friends and first loves. All in flames, burning in blinding red. The smell of charred flesh and burnt rubber filled the air, leaving only blackened bones and sickening unease. Faces that had once been people they knew, people they loved, people they cherished. Now only half singed faces skewed into dissonant half screams, expressed in strained terror and distorted beyond recognition. The school yard and town center were ablaze, lost in charcoal and smoke, nostalgia melting into a pool of unrecognizable mess. Memories singed in blackened red.

And the screams (oh, the screams!) …echoing…blaring… They pierced like needles into flesh – sharp, cold, and unforgiving – draining and only leaving emptiness. As it drew on, cut deep, leaving scars when it was over; scars that stitched onto the heart, refusing to leave and refusing to be forgotten. Just like the fires. Burned to memory.

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Sasuke woke with a start, clumsy fingers pressed against the sweat sticking to his temples. The bark underneath him scratched and itched as he pulled himself up. _Sleeping in trees was the worst_ , he thought to himself, but the comfort of cushioned tatami was long forgotten, a softness too far away to feel. He could remember a time when he slept on one, but now sleep was only associated with terror, unease, and vulnerability – something none of them could afford.

A few branches above, a boy sat with one knee pressed against his chest while the other dangled haphazardly. His back, supported by the trunk behind him, was alert and straight. The sound of a single crunched leaf would have gone unnoticed by untrained ears.

"If there were Black Guard soldiers, you'd be dead Uchiha-san." The boy said in a low whisper.

Sasuke suppressed the urge to scoff. There was nothing humorous about that statement.

"Is it time Nara?" He asked curtly.

Twilight had long since passed, the moon wasn't too high in the sky yet. Nara Shikamaru laid his head back and sighed. His shadow, cast by the dim moonlight, disappeared and ran off down the trunk. Teetering on what used to be the boarder of the Water and Wind Empires, the summer air was temperate.

It was a night of moving once again.

Swiftly and quietly Sasuke let himself down from the high branch. In a blink, his coal black eyes turned to pools of lusty red. He'd memorized where everyone hid, which trees and what branch.

He sneered. The lower branches were wider, sturdier, but ultimately more likely to be noticed. Sasuke looked at two girls – an older and a younger – whose eyes were closed blissfully in slumber. One wrapped into the other with protective arms, acting as a blanket against the winds, and Sasuke stared at them with contempt.

 _Nin-ja are supposed to sleep with one eye open._

The moment his foot stepped onto their branch, the older's eyes shot wide. Pupil-less ghost eyes darted in his direction as her arms lifted in a protective stance. The younger jostled awake.

"Calm yourself Hyuuga," he spat, "time to wake everyone up."

The veins around Hyuuga Hinata's eyes were on the verge of bulging, on the verge of activating her Nin, but she ignored the bitterness in his voice and lowered her arms, giving a silent nod of understanding.

"Onee-san?" the younger girl looked up at her sister, sleepy eyes vacant of any emotion but fear.

Hinata smiled at the girl.

"Don't worry Hanabi-chan." Hinata reassured. "We're just moving, again."

Hinata lifted her younger sister onto her back and Hanabi groaned. Hinata winced at the sound.

"Do your joints still hurt?" Hinata asked.

"Quit lagging Hyuuga." Sasuke ordered.

There was no room for argument.

Activating her Nin, the veins beside her eyes bulged. The world turned hollow and translucent. She could clearly see where everyone slept, and the energy roaming through them. Some were already awake and moving, being nudged by an elongated energy source running along the roots and bark of the wood; something that could only be Shikamaru's shadow. Even the spindle like fibers that connected Sasuke's core Nin to his glowing red eyes was completely visible to her.

She jumped to another tree, careful of Hanabi on her back.

The midlevel had two girls laying on opposite sides of the tree. Pink and yellow, long and flowing. The moment Hinata landed, the two girl's lids lifted. Hinata watched as energy began to flow from the pink's core to her arms, ready to strike; but upon seeing that is was only Hinata, she relaxed. The Nin receded back to the core.

"Don't scare us like that Hinata…" the yellow sighed.

"Sorry, Ino-san… Sakura-san." Hinata bowed her head in apology. "We'll be leaving shortly."

"No need to be sorry," the yellow, Yamanaka Ino, said. "How's your sister?"

The pink, Haruno Sakura, came down to the branch Hinata stood on. Putting her hand to Hanabi's forehead, Sakura's face turned askew.

"She's still really warm."

There were a few rustles from the trees behind. Hinata saw that everyone had been awoken and Shikamaru's shadow returned to his side. Hinata lingered for a moment, even when Sakura and Yamanaka Ino left the tree to join the others. Hanabi was limp, lifeless, and she hated it. Her Nin moved sluggishly through her body.

 _Nin-ja don't carry the dead back after a battle…_

"Hyuuga-san," Shikamaru called, "due west."

Shaken from her troubling thoughts, she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, scanning the perimeter – focusing west as asked. A tingle of energy slithered up from the pit of her belly to the nape of her neck. Warmth traveled into the temples beside her eyes as the veins bulged and grew.

As the bodies and landscapes turned translucent around her, there was a slight breeze that blew sending a chill down her spine. Trees turned to dry, mountainous landscape with sand and gravel sliding, being picked up by the wind. A treacherous path but there was no sign of any human life.

Letting her Nin fade back to her core, there was a slight feeling of fatigue from a portion of energy she had drained. Quickly, she joined the others. She stood at the center while they awaited her report; eyes worn and old, not meant for the youthful faces to whom they belonged to.

"We're safe for eight kilometers." Hinata reported. "The forest ends in about five."

Shikamaru nodded. There was only a second delay before the group dropped down from the trees. They dashed; small and clumsy feet tapped against the forest floor, a few faltering on roots and fallen branches. The click of their heels echoed into the night as they attempted to move quickly and swiftly. Scavenging animals scurried out of their path, frightened by the aura of raw desperation.

They passed like blurs, Sasuke leading with his eyes scanning the path ahead. Every turn and crevasse appeared before him two seconds before appearing for the group. Half a second for every tadpole that spun in his red pond. Like moving through water, his body was sluggish and disoriented with what he saw versus what he did. There were always delays and a curse would escape just under his breath as a branch would graze against a sore arm.

"How are you holding up, Hyuuga-san?" Shikamaru fell back to Hinata.

The middle of the group was one of the hardest to maneuver through, but as far as tactics go it was also the safest, a barricade of bodies surrounded them. Shikamaru was no fool, he noticed the worried furrow in Hinata's brow and the protective grip she had on Hanabi. The younger girl was awake, but she looked in no condition to function on her own.

"I-I'm fine Nara-san." Hinata gave a wary smile. Even in dire situations she was most polite. "Don't worry about us. Right now we just need to focus on getting into the mountains."

"Don't tire yourself too much, Hyuuga-san."

"Of course Nara-san," Hinata assured.

His words were short but the message was delivered. It did little to quell her unease, though. Hinata knew that she and her sister were their greatest assets for survival and they were of no use if too weak to even activate their Nin. Hanabi was already suffering. Hinata couldn't afford to drop as well.

Hinata knew this and so was conserving herself. Not accelerating faster to be at the head, being lighter on her feet to extend the moments she was lifted into the air. She wasn't the strongest, but she was trained to control her body. Hyuuga always needed to be in control.

A boy with red fang tattoos carved onto both cheeks approached her. He ran beside a midsized canine and gave her a worried look.

"I can have Akamaru carry Hanabi-chan if you need, Hinata."

Hinata smiled, sincerity in her eyes.

"M-maybe when we get to the mountains," she said earnestly, "Thank you Kiba-kun."

Shikamaru felt the muscles in his legs ache. It hadn't been long since their last encounter with the Black Guard and, despite an unwillingness to accept it, he knew not everyone had been able to recover – including him. They did was little they could with plants found around the forest, but neither time nor resources on their side. Cuts were left open, burns untreated, and fatigue ate away at their stamina. The spread of infection was inevitable, but by this point, they'd accepted the fate of death at any moment. Those who noticed the sickly yellow puss would always offer to stay behind, ready to prolong the effort for the rest to stay alive.

 _Nin-ja die in battle, nothing more nothing less._

Sasuke saw Shikamaru's shadow return. The chill of something cold as it passed under Sasuke seconds later was disorienting. Shikamaru reattached his shadow and absorbed the information it had gathered. The tingle as it ran through his feet and up his person was always unnerving but he'd learned to not show it.

"The forest dwindles out in a few kilometers," Shikamaru informed the group. "There is also a good portion of exposed space before the mountains start. We need to minimize the time we spend in that area."

There was no confirmation that any of them heard, but there didn't need to be. It was already common knowledge that they need to reach the mountains as soon as possible.

Akamaru whimpered. Kiba patted his companion's head trying to reassure him. "I smell it, too."

Shikamaru noted Inuzuka Kiba's comment.

"What do you smell Kiba?" Shikamaru demanded rather than asked. If Kiba could smell it, then it was close.

"Nothing that I know of…" Kiba admitted, but there was a feral look in his eyes as his nose scrunched and teeth exposed in a grimace. "But I can tell you it ain't natural."

"Hyuuga-san, status." Shikamaru ordered.

She took a deep breath and focused. The warmth that came from her center rushed up to her eyes and when she opened them the veins bulged. Immediately she saw the open plain that Shikamaru's shadow had discovered and just beyond, the mountainous terrain. Hinata turned her concentration to what was behind them. There seemed to be no one, the area was clear and vacant of anyone but them.

"I'm not seeing anything," she reported.

It wasn't good and Shikamaru was distressed, even if his demeanor and steps were steady. However, the grit in his teeth was something Hinata didn't miss. Sasuke frowned.

"What's the verdict Nara?" Sasuke slowed his pace to be in step with Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was calculating, but decisive direction was needed just as much as well-reasoned ones. His footing faltered for a moment.

"Proceed with caution," He answered. "We have to make it into the mountains."

Trees dwindled and the open field was coming clearer into view. Their steps didn't waver as the forest floor began to disappear. Roots were replaced with grass and the stuffy must of wet leaves cleared. The night was much colder than they had imagined.

"Stay alert Uchiha-san," Shikamaru cautioned.

"No need to tell me what I already know." Sasuke snapped.

Shikamaru only took a glance at the Uchiha. The two never truly got along, but there were more important things to worry about than petty differences. The night was still fresh and safety was still a long ways away from being obtained. Kiba frowned and mentally gave Akamaru a sign of comfort.

Hinata tightened the grip she had on her sister. Everyone else had hardened expressions, eyes darting in all directions, minimizing any signs of weakness or ability to be caught off guard. The end of the forest, the open field seemed to grow before them, making safety feel father and father away. It made them feel vulnerable, too visible in the dim light of a full moon that hung like a lantern hanging over a silhouette of mountains that were still too distant to grasp.

Sasuke saw it first.

Smoke erupted into the air. Clouds of gray and black polluted their vision. There was a smell of acrid wetness all around them, undoubtedly from the cloying vapors surrounding them. Instinctively they all reached to cover their nose and mouth. Poison was too obvious a possibility. Sasuke could feel the Nara's back shift against his, curved in an attack ready stance.

"Keep your Nin activated," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke was too paranoid to retort. His head snapped in all directions.

"Hyuuga!" He hiss through clenched teeth.

Hinata didn't need to be called. Her veins bulged and the world became transparent. She counted the heads of their group and felt slight ease that the number had not lowered. For now, everyone was alive, but there was an all too familiar panic that filled her when the sight of a foreign speck whirled past her jaw. It had entered from her blind spot.

There was no time to report. She threw herself back, turning to shield Hanabi.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

Too late.

Screams echoed when the explosion erupted. For what he could do, Naruto flung himself into the flames and felt his orange jumpsuit burn away. The heat consumed him, but the prickle of fire tingled on his skin. The force of the explosion pushed him back but at the least Hinata had been spared the large, marring burns that Naruto obtained. The embers of explosions were always too hard to manipulate.

Hanabi stared wide eyed, eyes watering from the heat. Hinata didn't have time to console her.

"Guard soldiers!" She and Sasuke yelled.

Blurs infiltrated the field. The sounds of metal clashing crashed. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and just barely deflected the shuriken aimed for Shikamaru's head.

"Get your head in the game, Nara," Sasuke seethed.

An attacker kicked him in the chest chest.

Shikamaru ducked a coming punch and swept the feet of the soldier in front of him. It knocked the assailant off his feet but there was a katana ready to slice him from the side. Shikamaru hissed. It grazed his hip as he jumped out of reach. Before he could process anything, there was another waiting to hook his jaw. It knocked him to ground. He quickly rolled just in time to avoid the blade.

Not far off, Sakura dipped low – her calloused hands gripping a soldier by the ankle and swinging him – releasing him to crash into two of his comrades. A quick side step and a twist to avoid a blade to her neck. Tightening her fingers into a ball, she gripped the arm of the soldier and tried to strike. Her fist was met by shuriken to the wrist. She reeled in pain. The blunt force of a knee to her chin sent her stumbling, her feet jumped to avoid an attack. Three men assaulted her, each with a weapon in both hand. One swiped up. Sakura caught the blade, her arm tense and the blood dripping from her grip as the clank of metal sounded behind her.

Ino interfered with her kunai. A wakizashi stunted in its attack, the attacker stumbled. Lunging into the air, Ino swung a leg around and hooking the soldier in the neck. There was a grunt as her victim fell to the ground. A blaring screech escaped her when a shuriken bit into her ankle. Her balance hindered. She struggled to deflect a katana aimed at her stomach. A swerve and raise of her arm, the dull end of the blade hit her shoulder and knocked her over. Someone caught her and lifted her over their head to catapult her body at an enemy soldier. The momentum carried the force in her arm to force a kunai between the eyes of the soldier in her path. Her kunai was quickly retrieved along with the shuriken in his side pouch.

"Thanks Choji." Ino huffed.

There was no time to acknowledge her words of gratitude. He spun and his blade met an opponent. The soldier swung her arms back and jabbed forward. Again, again, again. Akimichi Choji felt the cool touch of metal swipe his cheek, arms, legs. His arm lifted and shifted, catching the assaulter by the hip. The force pushed into his abdomen but he felt no warm sensation enter into his core. No Nin, no energy to absorb. The red gloves should have been the first sign that these were no Black Guards. He couldn't suppress the curses. A kunai stuck into his shoulder.

"Shino, your-!" Kiba yelled.

Aburame Shino grabbed an attacker's arm and swept them from under their knees while he sliced a clean cut through the jugular. With a furious scream, another assailant rushed in and aimed a fist to the side of Shino's face. Shino toppled back, caught by small black bugs. They dispersed when a foot came crashing into his stomach and a blade swung to mar his side. Shino flung an arm out to grab onto something. He ignored the squish of something sticky and oozing when he pulled himself up. Pivoting on one foot, he kick one side of the soldier's face and then turned to attempt to kick another. Before his foot could make contact a hand chopped at the back of his neck and his vision – even under the tinted glass – blurred.

Kiba barred his teeth in a feral growl and went rushing to his friend's aid. Akamaru barked and pounced onto a soldier. In a last attempt in life, the soldier swung the nearest object in reach – a rock. Whimpers as a rib crushed. Akamaru retreated off the soldier in pain. Kiba turned, furry eyed, and clawed the attacker. He ducked. A katana swung over his head and Akamaru bit the red gloved soldier. Another lunged at Kiba who jumped and avoided the blow. Airborne, he kicked his opponent with the back of his heel and sent them flying into one of their own. Kiba only barely heard Akamaru's bark of warning before they were both struck to the ground.

At the center of all the chaos, Hinata bent back just as a shuriken flew over her. Her legs lifted and she landed a clip onto one attackers' head. He stumbled back and she tried to run. The veins at the sides of her eyes made the battle field all too clear. She could already see the bodies laid about, their limbs akimbo, bent in unnatural positions, mid strikes and failed attacks. Her heart pounded against her chest as she could clearly see that there were more familiar faces than strangers lying on the floor of the battle field. Hanabi yelped. Hinata ducked. Her body turned in a circle and she saw the glint of a blade follow her movements. A few more attackers lined her sides, surrounding her. Three of them attacked at once and she couldn't dodge them all.

The sting of a tanto clipping her arm made her hiss, but she didn't let go of Hanabi who clung desperately to her sister's back. Hinata lifted an arm and redirected a kick to her face. The edge of a wakizashi came as a surprise when her senses failed to notice another assailant behind her. Hanabi gasped when Hinata fell onto her side to avoid the attack and another arm came around to slice her throat. The blade came too close to her head when it dropped. Sasuke had come down and stabbed his kunai into the back of the soldier's hand.

He forced her up.

"There are too many…" He grunted.

He was always three short steps ahead of others, but with so many swarming soldiers, the possibilities of the next attack for his life became too great. In the end he had deactivated his Nin. Hinata held out a limp hand and firmly pushed onto the neck of a soldier rendering her unconscious.

Her vision was waning as time went on and the more she exerted herself. The two Nin-ja swerved around each other and allowed a soldier to fall between the gaps they'd created.

"The mountains." She hissed. "We have to-…"

A blade appeared above her head. She turned and remained agile on her feet. A hand reached out and pulled Hanabi from her back. Hinata let out a furious gasp and kicked the owner of the hand. He blocked and twisted her ankle. Her body flipped against any will she had and it took all the effort she could muster to roll out of the way of a thrown shuriken. Only she was met with a foot to her chest.

Sasuke blocked an attack aimed for his abdomen but got hooked in the jaw. Stumbling, his back hit something hard, but it wasn't a rock or the trunk of a tree. It shifted and he turned to kick whoever it was off his feet. Shikamaru jumped over the attack.

"Watch it, Uchiha." Shikamaru snapped. "Duck."

Sasuke complied. A foot came swinging over him as Shikamaru's back bent to avoid the incoming blow. The foot collided with another soldier's shuriken and the assailant wailed in pain.

"We need to get to the mountains." Shikamaru commanded.

His shadow went flying from under him.

"Run!"

If the command wasn't heard, it was seen. The ones who were still capable of standing tried to fight a clear path toward the mountain range. Guard soldiers closed in on them, weapons out. Hinata watched as one attempted to stab Hanabi in the head. Even in her state, Hanabi was a fighter and rolled out of the way. With aching joints she picked herself off the ground a held an unstable, effortful stance. Her attacker lunged and she maneuvered herself to duck and chopped his side. It was messy and weak, doing little damage. But the blade dropped.

Hinata rushed in, her sister collapsing into her arms. She kicked a soldier and ran. Hanabi was in tow, tiny body jostling about in her sister's arms. Spinning on her feet, she dodged a few well aimed punches to her neck and sides. A blade comes close to her head as she dipped out of the way. The assailant continued to jab at her, bodies swirling. He lunged, she spun. She bolted. No one needed her Nin to know that there were Guard soldiers chasing to attack them.

The muscles in their legs burned. Just as the blade of a kunai cut Shino's arm. His teeth grit and a hand reached to pull him off course. The body was easily thrown to the side with a blinding force as Sakura flung him over her back. In a quick step she fell into step with Shino.

A jump and swipe, Choji managed to escape a few Guard soldiers. His brow was dirtied from sweat and blood but with a last effort he ran toward the mountains. Doing what he could, Shikamaru tried his best to use his shadow to lead through the smoke and to safety. Sasuke choked past the sting of a lesion on his side and activated his Nin. Eyes bloody red, he ignored the urge to calculate the rate of survival, only trying to focus on when the smoke would end.

Akamaru and Kiba couldn't suppress the tensed sigh when a large, rocky mountainside appeared in view. As the smoke began to thin, salvation was finally in sight. Their feet didn't slow as grass turned to ruble, and flat plain transformed into mountainous inclines. The soles of their feet burned through the rubber of their shoes when the mouth of the mountain pass opened.

The sound was heard before the explosion.

Light and fire. The mountain was coming down on them. The rumble of boulders as they plundered a path to the unfortunate people below. It knocked some of them to the ground. But with one last push, one last breath, one last burst of energy, they chanced the rocks plummeting onto them. Their weakened forms bounced between boulders. A foot misplaced and a tumble down the incline. A piercing scream as someone was hit.

They didn't stop. Even as the yells and screams echoed behind them and the mouth of the mountain pass crumbled in a pile of smoke and boulder, their feet struggled to continue running. Strains in their muscles were hardly noticed and only resulted in staggered steps. The terrain was something they were not accustomed to. A long range of towering and intimidating rows of stone, cut so jagged and barren of any life that the dry dust beneath their feet kicked up in small clouds of dull, powdered rock. But the only thing they focused on was the overly familiar sound of fabric rubbing and feet pattering on ground. As they ran their vision focused on nothing but the narrow pathway in front. With Sasuke in front, and Shikamaru close behind, everyone struggled to continue their pace.

Their feet hurt. Their legs hurt. Their arms hurt. Their lungs hurt. Their necks hurt from countless nights spent sleeping in trees and lying on rocks. Their heads hurt from blows in battle. Their eyes stung with stifled tears and sleepless nights.

But they continued to run.

Not looking back, they ran till the path opened and their options diverged. Still encased by tall, uneven landscape, they were at a loss. Breaths raging and eyes darting, their hands still hovering over what little weaponry they had left.

Hinata tried her best to concentrate. Short of breath and energy low, she closed her eyes. Shikamaru waited for the bulges beside her eyes to recede before asking whether the Guard had finally stopped perusing. White eyes opened and a timid nod signaled their safety. Her knees almost collapsed beneath her as Kiba came up to support her, carefully pulling a half dazed Hanabi from her back. For a moment, they could finally rest.

"We have to find an alcove somewhere," Shikamaru instructed, his voice low and exhausted. "The sandstorms in this area are deadly and unpredictable."

He made no effort to stand correctly; the battered ribs wouldn't let him. Heaving a ragged breath, he shuddered at the pain. Like everyone else, the bruises were beginning to form. They didn't have time to figure out how to nurse their wounds, yet their feet were reluctant to move. The light of the moon held itself over them, glowing and giving little shadows to disguise the lifeless terrain around them. The sounds of falling pebbles filled their silence.

"Red Guard soldiers," Naruto scoffed, "what an insult. The Queen didn't even have the guts to send the Black Guard. "

He patted off the dust from what was left of his charred jumpsuit.

"Had they been Black Guard we'd all be dead, stupid." Sakura chastised. Ino, who had an arm slung over her friend, hissed. Her right Achilles had been sliced.

"We almost died just _then_!" Naruto reminded her, his arms comically waving in the air. "It's embarrassing knowing we had our asses handed to us by some non-Nin soldiers."

"Naruto," Ino snapped, "people did die. You're saying this bullshit and just now-…"

"That's why I'm pissed."

Naruto balled his fists. Eyes glowering down, a feral sound resonated in the back of his throat. His teeth clenched and no one said a word as a flash of sadness passed through their eyes. For a second, they all panted to catch their breaths and thought of the lives lost. There were no incents to burn or offerings to give to the deceased. There were only thoughts to honor them in their dreams.

 _Nin-ja do not mourn for their losses._

But they were only thirteen, twelve, seven…

Still children, and still so young.

So when their tears began to well, in a cramped and hidden alcove on the side of a mountain, no one stopped them from falling.

It had been four years since the great Empire of Fire had fallen, and all that was left were ten measly, little children.

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 _A re-imagined version of the ninja world. Ninja/Shinobi is 忍者 and is made up of the words for resilient (忍) and person/being (者). So the rookie nine are literally calling themselves "resilient people" by referring to themselves as Nin-ja and others as non-resilient when calling them non-Nin. What in the original series is called 'chakra', is now referred to as 'nin' or 忍 or resilience in this verse. Their extraordinary abilities are believed as literal manifestations of their strength and resolve... but more on that as the story progresses._

 _Don't forget to **review** if you can, and please anticipate the next chapter!_


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